A truck's cargo space is often limited by the size of its cargo area or bed. There are some cargo loads that are longer than the cargo area of the truck and it can be difficult to safely secure cargo in the cargo area. Many trucks are equipped with a tailgate at the rear of the cargo area to allow for easy access for the loading and the unloading of cargo. Longer cargo loads are sometimes loaded into a truck with the tailgate in a lowered position which can allow the load to slide out of the bed of the truck while the vehicle is in motion. In an attempt to remedy this condition, any trucks come equipped with several tie-down hooks installed throughout the cargo area to allow the user to strap their cargo into place to prohibit its movement during transit.
Unfortunately, many trucks to do not come factory-equipped with cargo hooks installed into the tailgate section of the truck bed. For cargo loads that would require the tailgate to be left in a lowered position to be transported, there is often some difficulty finding a way to properly and safely tie the load down to prevent it from moving. In order to address the issue of the lack of cargo hooks on the tailgate of trucks, devices have been proposed to provide a means for attaching cargo hooks to the tailgate. Many of these devices suffer from any number of drawbacks.
Many of the proposed devices are very costly and bulky prohibiting their use. Other devices are proposed for specific makes and models of trucks which prohibits the market for those devices. Still other devices are designed so that they modify the cargo area of the truck in a permanent or non-permanent manner, causing reluctance for the truck owner to undertake such modifications. A suitable solution is desired.
Various attempts have been made to solve problems found in automotive accessory art. Among these are found in: U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,744 to Parkins; U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,132 to Taylor; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,695,556 to Addy. These prior art references are representative of automotive accessories.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed. Thus, a need exists for a reliable tailgate tie down anchor, and to avoid the above-mentioned problems.